While away enjoying San Diego State basketball, I couldn’t help but notice Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith, that old sheep farmer, went John Wayne again, jumping on his horse, galloping into his neighbor’s field and fleecing the Seattle Seahawks. It was practically shameful.
In that we’re dealing with Seahawks, maybe it should be called a defeathering, but fleecing fits here. Because that’s just what it was. Every so often, Smith is capable of pulling the wool over somebody else’s eyes, and in this case, it was new Seattle boss Pete Carroll who came out of it worsted for wear.
Guaranteed, the deal that sent Chargers third-string quarterback Charlie Whitehurst to the Pacific Northwest has many football men who see San Diego as one of the NFL’s better teams — which it is — hoping the deal is fictitious. Which it is not.
It can’t be considered bona fide, because it isn’t, but the Chargers unofficially will have two first-round picks in next month’s draft — all because Carroll is enamored with Whitehurst. Perhaps it was the way Charlie carried a clipboard on the sideline for four seasons. Or maybe his beard reminded Pete of Dan Fouts (which would have to be the extent of that comparison).
In return for Whitehurst, besides getting Carroll to relinquish his 2011 third-round draft pick, Smith was able to exchange second-round selections with Seattle in this year’s lottery, moving up 20 spots to No. 8 in the second, No. 40 overall.
It means the Chargers now will pick 28th and 40th in a draft considered by many to be the best in years. Of course, drafts being drafts, it all depends what you do with your choices. But if Smith does it right and doesn’t pull a Sammy Davis off the tree, this deal is ridiculous and could weigh significantly on the Chargers’ future on the field and how it goes about its football business.
“Everything has to be done correctly, even though your intentions always are good in the draft,” Smith says. “There are a lot of players out there getting first-round grades you can get into the first half of the second round. It’s very exciting to us.
“There’s always an overlap; not everyone can go in the first round. There’s a world of difference between the bottom of the second and the top of the second. To go from 28th to 8th … no question, it’s an exciting spot to be in.”
This is not a Drew Brees thing. Brees had made the Pro Bowl before being allowed to walk. Whitehurst had made nothing but the roster. Nor had he done anything as a professional. He’s 27 years old and the last time he threw a pass in a real game was in 2005, when he was a senior at Clemson.
Quarterbacks always are a gamble, but maybe Whitehurst will work out for the Seahawks, who no doubt see veteran Matt Hasselbeck’s gas gauge leaning toward empty. But Charlie wasn’t going to work out here, not with starter Philip Rivers, all of 28, still around with his tank topped off.
If the Chargers saw the future in Whitehurst, it’s doubtful they would have re-signed backup QB Billy Volek, who agreed to a three-year extension in February 2008.
“You know me, I like three at every position,” Smith says. “If Billy had not accepted that extension, Charlie would have been No. 2, so he would have been hands-off. We will have a third quarterback.”
So, even if Rivers were to go down with an injury, it’s obvious Whitehurst wasn’t going to hurdle Volek, who not only has thrown a pass in The League, but won in it. It was Volek, who with Rivers hurt in the 2007 Divisional playoff game at Indianapolis, led the Chargers on a late, game-winning touchdown drive. Not many No. 2s have that on their résumé.
So Smith, who knew both the Cardinals — who ended up signing Derek Anderson — and Seattle had interest in Whitehurst, went to work. He had put a third-round tender on Whitehurst, an unrestricted free agent, but Seattle didn’t have a third-round pick in 2010.
There was no bluffing required. Smith had the ace showing. Quarterbacks are terribly important. Carroll wanted Whitehurst, and got his man, although, in this case, if Pete had a store he gave it away. It didn’t surprise Smith.
“I’m not surprised by anything,” he says. “I don’t know what’s going on in all the other buildings. You have a book on people; I’m sure there’s a book on me. But you have a new beginning there in Seattle, so all you can do on your end is create things and present them. I was happy with that.
“With one single move, we moved up 20 spots in the second round and got an additional three for next year, which means we will have three threes next year — and quite possibly one of those threes can be a two, depending on what happens with the Jets and Antonio Cromartie (who automatically moves from a three to a two if New York re-signs him or he meets certain playing criteria).”
Says here the old shepherd got Pete Carroll’s goat, and it turned out to be cashmere.